SEARHC awarded more than $1.5 million dollars in behavioral health grants

SEARHC

Published: October 18, 2016

JUNEAU, October 10, 2016 – SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) recently received two grants from the State of Alaska totaling $575,000.

The first is a four-year grant from Indian Health Service, Methamphetamine, and Suicide Prevention for $200,000 per year, totaling $800,000.

SEARHC will use this funding to promote early intervention strategies and implement positive youth development programming to reduce risk factors for suicidal behavior and substance abuse. Entitled “Wisdom for Life,” this program will effectively blend evidence-based practice and Alaska Native wisdom to reduce the incidence of suicide and methamphetamine use in Southeast Alaska.

The second is a two-year from the Administration for Children and Families, Family Violence Prevention and Services for $375,000 per year, totaling $750,000.​

SEARHC Health Promotion Director, Martha Pearson said, “Tlingit scholar, Elder, and leader Dr. Walter Soboleff described Native values as influencing a person's view of the world and guiding actions. Tlingit values, according to Dr. Soboleff, include respect for self and others, and care of the body. [1] These two values are upheld in the SEARHC MSPI program which will combine culturally based programs and physical health to support resilient youth.”

SEARHC will use this funding to address the unacceptably high rates of domestic violence experienced by Alaska Natives in the rural communities of Southeast Alaska. The project will work to increase capacity for SEARHC Behavioral Health Division staff located in Juneau and their rural health clinics, and in collaborative efforts with AWARE in Juneau, to provide core and comprehensive domestic violence services to parents, children, and youth.​